Author: Mark

Genes are what make us who we are, they are the building blocks of pretty much every organic living thing in the world. Genes are basically segments of nucleotides that are strung together to form DNA. These nucleotides contain information that is then interpreted into the organic structures that we recognize in the world around us. They dictate the shape and functionality of the cells that govern our bodies. The genes form DNA, and long strands of DNA form chromosomes.

It might surprise you to know that dogs actually have more chromosomes than human beings. We have forty six, whereas dogs have seventy eight. These seventy eight chromosomes contain thousands of genes, with the number nearing about twenty five thousand in general.

A group of chromosomes come together to form a genome, which basically contains all of the genetic material present in each cell. If we want to understand an organism, we first need to sequence its genome. In 2005, research that was conducted by the Broad Institute at MIT described the process of sequencing the genomes present within dogs. The successful sequencing of the genome opened up a whole new world of knowledge regarding dogs. As a pet owner, this is important information because of the fact that it can allow you to understand the needs of your dog in a much more significant manner.

MIT’s research focused on a female boxer dog by the name of Tasha. Her gene sequence allowed the people conducting the research to identify errant genes that lead to diseases in the canine population. Parentage can also be better ascertained after the understanding of the canine genome, something that’ll be of particular importance to breeders. Gene testing offers a lot of advantage to pet owners. Discussed below are some of the more pertinent advantages.

Ascertaining The Pedigree of a Dog

If you want to know whether or not the dog that you have gotten is a true pedigree, gene testing can help you a great deal. This will allow you to ascertain the parentage of a dog. Pedigree dogs cost a lot of money, and they form the crux of a very lucrative industry. Fakes are present pretty much everywhere, and the industry along with consumers interested in the services of said industry have often struggled to truly ensure that true pedigrees are sold. Gene testing can help solve this problem in a big way, although the gene testing that confirms parentage only looks at the gene sequence as a whole and does not get into the important details that could help you ascertain potential congenital diseases and the like.

Ensure Pet Waste Collection

Thanks to gene testing, a system can be created whereby people would register their dogs with a single authority or agency and provide DNA samples that would logged in said registry. If pet waste is discovered in a certain area, the owner of the offending pet can be determined. All that would need to be done is that cells would have to be extracted after which they could be tested to see if any of the registered owners pop up. If a match is made, the owner can then be penalized accordingly. This would help enforce pet waste laws. After a period of trial and error, the rate of owners that don’t clean up after their pets will increase drastically.

Making Mixed Breed Origins Clearer

If you do more than just look at the overall gene sequence, you can figure out specific breeds that a particular dog originated from. If you own a dog, not knowing what breed it is could be a problem because each breed needs to be treated in a different way. Things like managing your dog’s health and training it to perform various tasks will all need to be approached according to a dog’s breed, so gene testing can make this process a lot simpler as well. Dogs with certain genetic backgrounds are also found to be more suitable to particular tasks such as search and rescue or drug sniffing. Gene testing can help find dogs perfect for these jobs.

Improve Dog Health By Finding Disease Genes

Breeding helps make beautiful, easy to train dogs, but the constant inbreeding could potentially result in problematic alleles propagating. For example, if a dog is genetically disposed to a specific disease and it mates with a dog with a breed that is close to its own then this gene is going to be more likely to activate over the course of a dog’s life. Gene testing can help breeders weed out dogs that are predisposed to diseases so that they are not used in the breeding process. This can also help lower the rates of diseases occurring in the first place, thus resulting in the overall dog population becoming a lot healthier. Over time, these diseases could potentially even be eradicated entirely.

Ascertain Unique Traits

It’s quite common for someone to buy a puppy based on how it looks only to be disappointed by how it turned out as it got older. Using gene testing, breeders and owners can find hidden traits that would show up later on in the dog’s life. This can help you prepare for your dog’s adulthood and ensure that you only get the kind of dog that you truly want. It can also ensure that you give your dog the best life possible.

How to Get a Dog DNA Test

You probably want to get the best dog DNA test available so that you can be confident that the results are accurate. There are a number of companies that can test your dog’s DNA, although it is recommended that you get blood drawn yourself by a veterinarian that you trust. A lot of tests might not require a blood sample, though. A buccal swab will do just fine here. Make sure you ask the test providers about what DNA they need so that you can prepare accordingly.

Winter is now firmly in full swing, and you will probably be tempted to make your dog wear a coat. This is a popular trend for many reasons. First of all, we don’t want our dogs to feel cold, nor do we want them to get sick. Moreover, dogs look absolutely adorable in coats, so it is perfectly understandable that you would want to put one on your pet. However, your pet is not a toy, it is an animal that depends on you and is in many ways a part of your family. Hence, you should learn about the facts and myths about coats on dogs. Listed below are several myths around the matter that should help you better understand whether or not you should put a coat on your dog this winter.

#1 All Dogs Need Coats to Stay Warm

While it is true that there are some skinny dogs out there whose furs are too thin to make them feel truly warm during cold months, certain dogs have thick shaggy coats of fur, and don’t need external coats. They can modulate their body temperatures on their own.

#2 Dogs Get Used to Coats

While dogs may look cute in coats, the fact of the matter is that many might feel uncomfortable having a foreign object on their body. Unlike humans, dogs are simply not used to clothing. If your pet seems distressed by the coat, don’t force it to wear it.

#3 Big Dogs Don’t Need Coats

If you ask someone what dogs don’t need external coats, most people would say that bigger dogs are less likely to need them. However, some big dogs might just need coats. Greyhounds don’t have thick fur, so coats can help them stay warm.

#4 Sweaters Are Best For Dogs

Sweaters are popular clothes for dogs, but often waterproof coats are going to work a lot better. Cold seeps in through moisture a lot more than it does through the air, so keep your dog safe from cold dampness is more important.

#5 The Coats Need to Be Fitted

This seems logical. After all, the snugger a coat is, the more body heat it will trap. However, fitted coats can sometimes be too restrictive for dogs. Loose, warm clothing can do the job just as well without making your pup feel trapped.

#6 Dog’s Feet Don’t Need Protection

Coats are useful and cute, but you need to make sure that you protect your dog’s feet as well. The pads are quite sensitive, and with roads covered with salt ice and anti freeze protecting your dog’s feet might just be more important than covering up its body.

#7 Heavy Coats Work Best

Heavier coats won’t necessarily be warmer. Your dog might feel warm and comfy with a light shirt. Try to find out your dog’s individual preferences, this will help you ensure that it feels as comfortable as possible during the cold winter months.

Your pet is probably one of the most important parts of your life, so it is natural that you might want to spoil it a little. The holidays are a great time to buy your pet a gift. Here are some cute ideas that you could try out.

Blind man with a seeing eye dog lets nice people at the mall give his pup a pat. Right then, however, his gross pooch poops in the middle of the floor. A security guard walking by steps right into the dog poo. Then, he takes off his shoe and smells it – for emphasis maybe (who knows why anyone would smell stinky poo on their shoe) – and as his face is near the disgusting poo, a little kid punches his hand and smears it all over his face.

When we pick up dog poo, we leave millions of viruses and on the ground. However careful we are, it’s unavoidable. So, spray that spot with POO Guard and help to avoid transfer to us or to other dogs.

It’s highly effective in so many areas…

In hundreds of locations, POO Guard can be used to quickly kill millions of bacteria and viruses left on the ground after dog poo has been picked up. A quick spray of POO Guard stoops them leading to infection – protecting us and our dogs.

Kills Parvovirus

Parvovirus is a killer.

Infection from Parvovirus can be lethal, particularly in puppies. PooGuard contains a safe patented active ingredient which is proven extremely effective against this virus. By spraying the ground after we’ve picked up dog poo, we can kill the virus and make the outdoors that bit safer.

Whilst we all love dogs, we need to be mindful that dog poo is home to literally millions upon millions of bacteria and viruses.

Picking up dog poo makes sure that most of this is carefully disposed of – but millions of bacteria and viruses remain on the ground. Each gram of dog poo is reckoned to contain around 24 million bacteria and viruses, including many that are dangerous if ingested by other dogs, and many that are harmful to humans.

These bacteria and viruses come into contact with our food, or are simply transferred to the hands of toddlers and children when they play outdoors – from which point it’s incredibly easy for tiny remnants of poo to find their way into our digestive systems.

Bacteria and viruses can also enter sports players through small cuts and grazes.

Protects in 3 ways:

Kills bacteria & viruses (including Parvovirus) left on the ground after picking up dog poo

Foaming action visually marks the spot for a few moments so you can avoid it whilst it gets to work

Repels other dogs, keeping them safe from cross -infection

POO Guard kills bacteria and viruses left on the ground after dog poo has been picked up.

A single spray protects us and our dogs from cross-infection including:

Parvovirus

Streptococcus

Enterobacter

Salmonella and many others

We all love dogs, and we love responsible owners.

Most of us pick up our dog’s poo because we’re aware that it’s unpleasant to walk in, and because it carries hundreds of millions of harmful bacteria and viruses.

But after even the best pick up, there are still millions of these bacteria and viruses remaining on the ground, and in high footfall areas such as pavements, gardens, play areas and sports fields, these are quickly spread.

And the spread causes cross-infection by very simple transfer – transmitting viruses such as Parvovirus to other dogs, and infections such as E-Coli and Salmonella to us.

Some of this is harmless, but much is potentially extremely dangerous – dog poo remains are a significant cause of the spread of Parvovirus between dogs, and numerous bacteria from dog poo remains can cause us very serious infection.